Is science anti-religion? (Last of two parts)
WAS there a “beginning”? How long the creation of the heavens (the universe) and the earth took place, the Bible did not specify. As the astronomers had long estimated, it might have lasted millions, even billions of literal years.
“So, by its very silence on when the ‘beginning’ took place, the Bible allows for present estimates of the age of the universe or for any future revision of such estimates,” the Witnesses assert in the book Is the Bible Really the Word of God? (p. 18, par. 1)
Does not the phrase “In the beginning” indicate that the universe did indeed have a beginning? Does science agree? Have not scientists tried to explain how the universe originated? One popular explanation is called the Big Bang theory. Then there’s “steady state theory” and “oscillating theory”.
In this matter, there appears no clear contradiction between the Scriptures and science. The Bible says the universe had a beginning, scientists generally believe so.
Scientist Francis Crick noted, “Almost all recent discussions of the origin of the universe are based on the Big Bang theory.” Others called it “cosmic explosion”.
What brought about “the instant of creation remains a mystery,” admitted astrophysicist John Gribbon.
He mused, “maybe God did make it, after all.” (new Scientist, August 16, 1979 p. 506)
Interestingly, the Bible had long described facts in the universe that scientists would confirm only in more recent times.
Earth is a globe, not flat. “There is One who dwells above the circle of the earth.” (Isaiah 40:22; “sphere,” Footnote: The newWorld Translation of the Holy Scriptures)
Earth floats in empty space, not resting on the back of a huge elephant, as an ancient superstition had it.
“He stretches out the northern sky over empty space, suspending the earth upon nothing.” (Job 26:7)
Water on earth moves in an endless cycle, “All the streams flow into the sea, yet the sea is not full. To the place from which the streams flow, there they return so as to flow again.”(Ecclesiastes 1:7)
Creation or evolution?
Perhaps, the biggest bone of contention between religion and science concerns the origin of life. The Bible states, “Every house is constructed by someone. But the one who constructed everything is God.” (Hebrews 3:4)
To scientists in general, though, the idea of Creation will sound utterly baseless, one of dogmatic speculation. Anyway, has any of their smartest satellites and computerized telescopes able to detect any trace of God, a Creator?
Well, the preceding verse seems to raise a simple yet powerful argument for Creation, “Every house is constructed by someone.”
To build a house, even one of crude structure and cheap materials, would need a builder – someone with the ability to design and plan, assemble the parts, and hammer and nail everything into place.
Design alone requires intelligence and creativity. There must be power or energy to move the parts, and certainly, skill to put everything together in an orderly, functional way.
Does not Earth satisfy these requirements? Was it not creatively designed? Its formation into a perfect globe alone, and all the objects of nature –including man – is not everything beautifully designed? Just examine the rich varieties of plants and flowers, beasts and fowls, birds and insects, and the human body. What about the attractive and bright combination of colors that abound in nature?
Is not the planet also equipped with life-sustaining heating and cooling systems, endless cycles of water, oxygen and carbon dioxide that is so evident in plant life?
Whoever “constructed” this planet home proved to be not only a super- engineer but even a super-meticulous interior decorator and a landscape artist of unmatched sense of beauty and balance!
Why, planet Earth has always been a marvelous shelter for every breathing thing, with a protective canopy we call atmosphere! Can blind chance – the premise of Evolution – be able to juggle all these into place?
Perfect form and order, beautiful design, and self-renewing power or energy – are these not proofs of Creation? The truth is, man, with all his vaunted creativity and intelligence, can hardly duplicate nature, much more, produce anything superior to it. The best inventions ever produced by humans are poor copycats by comparison. Could the smartest computers match the human brain, or even come close to it?
Extend one’s investigation of marvelous design, order and dynamic power to the entire universe, and what logical conclusion do you get? not by any stretch of imagination could Evolution have produced all that!
“Lift up your eyes to heaven and see. Who has created these things? It is the One who brings out their army by number. He calls them all by name. Because of his vast dynamic energy and his awesome power, not one of them is missing.” (Isaiah 40:26)
Bridging the gap
From the preceding analysis, it appears religion and science need not be irreconcilable. Only each one has to keep an objective, realistic view of the other.
True, science, after all, should be founded on established facts, the result of investigation devoid of bigotry or bias against anything still beyond its present grasp. Every honest man of science must admit that the entire body of scientific knowledge today does not have all the answers to all questions about man and his universe.
It should be free from mere speculations and theories not proven beyond any reasonable doubt. For that matter, Evolution, it now appears, has been gaining more doubters than hard-core advocates.
As Michael Ruse, writing in Britain’s new Scientist journal, said, “An increasing number of scientists, most particularly a growing number of evolutionists argue that Darwinian evolutionary theory is no genuine scientific theory at all . . .”
For its part, religion, to be credible, must be unshackled from tradition and dogma that had already been discredited and refuted by more enlightened reasoning and scientific evidence. Interestingly, beliefs that pass the test of sound reasoning and scientific investigation are somehow also proven to be in harmony with the Holy Scriptures.
The Bible acknowledges that truth itself is progressive, not rigid or stagnant; its light is growing brighter and brighter with time. This applies to both science and religion. Since everything in this world is subject to change, our beliefs should adjust according to more enlightening discoveries and revelations. Is this not the truly scientific way of thinking, anyway?
“But the path of the righteous is like the bright morning light that grows brighter and brighter until full daylight.” (Proverbs 4:18) “Make sure of all things. Hold fast to what is fine.” (1 Thessalonians 5:21)